


Eyes Like Hope, a Smile Like Mercy, a Voice Like Justice

by CascadingSilver



Category: Tales of Arcadia (Cartoons)
Genre: And some thoughts- a good amount of which are complicated, Canon Compliant, Don't copy to another site, Gen, I have some serious Feels about Wizards, Seriously there has to be some ramifications from changing the timeline a bit, Some light angst that I did not intend to write but here we are, Spoilers for Wizards: Tales of Arcadia, so i'm writing about them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:29:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25814338
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CascadingSilver/pseuds/CascadingSilver
Summary: Remembering.Or,There are consequences to changing the timeline.
Relationships: Aaarrrgghh & Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal, Aaarrrgghh & Jim Lake Jr. (Tales of Arcadia), Blinkous "Blinky" Galadrigal & Jim Lake Jr., Deya the Deliverer & Jim Lake Jr.
Comments: 27
Kudos: 188





	Eyes Like Hope, a Smile Like Mercy, a Voice Like Justice

**Author's Note:**

> I... haven't written fic in several months, so I'm kinda rusty lol.
> 
> Anyway. Wizards, huh? What a ride. I have several ideas rattling around in my brain now, and this was the first I got to write. Now that the timeline's been changed a bit, I really wanted to explore how Jim impacted the people he knows in his present and how they perceive him.

Blinkous Galadrigal has, for nine-hundred years, known that there would one day be a Trollhunter with piercing blue eyes that shine like _hope_. Hope for victory. Hope for the next day. Hope for the _future_.

He has met this Trollhunter. His name was Jim (an odd name), and his blue eyes had _shone_ as he rallied the citizens of Dwoza to arms. Something had stirred within his breast, then, along with the utter _fear_ that threatened to overtake him. His brother felt the same, he could tell, but he, Blinkous Galadrigal, would not give in to the terror, not when this _literal whelp_ could stand before them and tell them they’d win, despite what they may think. He had lived a much longer life than this child. Surely, he could fight a war?

And they fought. And they _won_ , all because of this child with hope-blue eyes and the ability to look at him and tell him he could do _so much more_.

Much later, the Trollhunter approached him, after the fighting had ceased and Jim and his companions had returned to whence they came.

Deya the Deliverer, once Callista the Calamity, stood before him and told him who this child had been: a Trollhunter, like herself, but from the distant future. Jim had told her, she said, that a day would come where Blinkous himself would be a close companion of his, and one whom Jim trusted with his life.

He would need to know Jim, she said, but do not tell him that you know him. Let him forge his own path, but do not let him do it alone. Guide him to be the child of hope that he knew from Dwoza.

Hope for the future, Blinkous, the Deliverer told him, and teach Jim to hope, as well.

~~~

AAARRRGGHH!!! has, for nine-hundred years, known that there would one day be a Trollhunter with a toothy, knowing smile that looks like _mercy_. Mercy for the disillusioned. Mercy for ones who do not know better. Mercy for those who deserve second chances.

He knows this because it was this whelp who showed him a better path. Under Gunmar, AAARRGGHH!!! was always watching his back, always frightened, always waiting for the fatal blow. In the Skullcrusher’s horde, there was always a chance that you would be killed by one looking for power, no matter what your rank was. This… Jim had looked at him, smiled, and offered a hand not to strike him, but to offer a chance to start again. A chance to live a life without fear.

AAARRRGGHH!!! was reluctant to take it. What did this child know of him? Of war? Didn’t he know that there was no mercy for a killer like him?

_Kill him!_ The citizens of Dwoza yelled, and AAARRRGGHH!!! agreed. He was guilty of so many things. The only thing he deserved was death.

But no. He never got what he wanted, did he? Not a chance to have a peaceful life like these Trolls, not a chance to have a family like the small, four-armed Troll and his brother, both of whom were clearly terrified by him.

The Jim had scowled at the other Trolls and told them no, they would not kill him. Then he smiled at AAARRRGGHH!!!, and it shone like mercy, the kind where you could try again and again, and no matter how many times you slipped, you would not be punished for it.

The boy was merciful. The general was not used to this feeling… this… this… _kindness_. When had he ever been kind to another? He couldn’t remember. And…

…When had he ever been merciful?

But the Jim was filled with it, and it was this mercy that allowed him to meet Blinkous. Or Blinky, because _Blinkous_ was hard to say and that was what the Jim had called him. Blinky was skittish and anxious, but he was also empathetic and kind. _He_ did not hit AAARRRGGHH!!! when he made a mistake. He corrected him with a smile, and not once did he ever judge him.

It was nice.

After the Battle of Killahead, on their way to the New World and a new Heartstone, as the Dwoza stone had died in the blast of magic that shook the heavens, Blinky told him who the Jim had been: a Trollhunter like Deya, but from the future. He and AAARRRGGHH!!! would know the boy, he told him, and they would be his teachers.

AAARRRGGHH!!! was glad. The boy had been his savior, and he would have a chance to repay him. He would teach him mercy, AAARRRGGHH!!! decided, like Blinky would teach him hope. The mercy to be able to spare a former GummGumm like him.

~~~

Deya has, for nine-hundred years, known that there would one day be a Trollhunter with a soft-yet-strong voice that rings like _justice_. Justice for those unfairly slain. Justice for the generations yet to come. Justice for _oneself_.

This Trollhunter was the one who gave her her purpose, her _name_. Before, she had been Callista the Calamity, doomed to put all she loved in danger. She was an outcast, she was bad luck, she was someone no one wanted around. She was tainted by humans, after all, and carried a human name. But she couldn’t help it. Her memories of her old life were gone. Where was the justice in that?

But Jim hadn’t cared. He saw Callista, not the Calamity. He didn’t have the history needed to judge her. He’d met her in the dungeons beneath Camelot and decided she was someone who was worth saving. He spoke of hope and mercy and justice, and Callista couldn’t help but swept away by the tide of it all. It had been a while since someone had cared enough to talk to her, and more importantly, to listen to her.

And he listened. He listened as she told him about her story: her village destroyed, being captured by humans, given one of their names, and deemed an outcast by her kind. She lamented to him about how she wished she could avenge her village, her family, to enact justice for them.

She listened, too, and learned of how Jim was not of her time. He was from the future, and held the position of Trollhunter, a mantel granted by Merlin to protect Trolls from evil, such as Gunmar and his horde. Merlin? Protecting Trolls? A preposterous thought.

But here was this half-human, half-Troll boy from the future, with a suit of ebony and crimson armor, and she had no choice but to believe. Maybe she, Callista, would be Trollhunter one day, and she would finally be able to bring about the justice she so desired.

And little by little, as the days went on, Jim gave her the tools to bring her justice. He gave her the courage to speak up as he pleaded with Dwoza to help them in the coming war. He gave her status she needed as she helped win the fight against the GummGumm general. He gave her hope as she sat in a crevasse, Amulet in hand, unsure if she was worthy to wield his mantel.

_It’s Jim’s, not mine,_ she thinks, but Jim tells her _no_ , that the mantel is hers. He may be Trollhunter, but he is the future’s Trollhunter. The people back where he comes from need him. She, Callista, is _this_ era’s Trollhunter, and the people of this time need _her_.

She listens, and he leaves, and before she goes as well, her village gives her one last gift in the form of a carved totem.

She is Deya, and she is the Deliverer, but it was someone else who delivered her, who did her village justice as he gave her her purpose.

So she _fights_.

After all is said and done, she is visited by a specter of Merlin. He tells her that she, his champion, will have a legacy spanning centuries. Her name will be celebrated by thousands, and she will be remembered by countless others. He tells her that, when she dies, her spirit will live on in a Void Between Worlds. She will serve as a teacher for those who come after, and eventually, for Jim, the boy with eyes like hope, a smile like mercy, and a voice like justice.

So she waits. She fights _for_ justice, and eventually, she is killed by Bular’s sword. It’s morbidly poetic, in a way: she locked away the father, so the son takes her life in retaliation.

The Amulet leaves, and she is reborn in a world of spirits and magic, all cloaked in a blue haze.

Later, she is joined by others: a lean Trollhunter with the affinity for cloning themself to get the edge on enemies, a pacifist Trollhunter with gentle eyes and words, a Trollhunter whose son sought only to make him proud, and many more.

Deya does not tell them about Jim. It’s too soon for them. They know the stories, of course, where a whelp from a distant land inspired the mighty Deya to take up arms against Gunmar and his injustices, but they do not know the true nature of the boy. That is knowledge for her and her alone.

Finally, nine centuries after the great Battle of Killahead, a human is Chosen as Trollhunter for the first time. His eyes shine like a hope not seen in years, his smile bestows mercy upon whomever he graces it with, and his voice rings like a chance for justice.

His name is Jim Lake, Jr., and as he fights, as he _wins_ , Deya watches with a proud gaze. Her title might be “the Deliverer”, but it is _he_ , this human child with the resilience of a Troll, who truly deserves the moniker.

He delivered her, and in turn, she delivered the world. 

**Author's Note:**

> God, I love Deya, and I'm so glad we got to see her origin story. Her sibling relationship with Jim gives me life :D
> 
> I think I might add another chapter at some point exploring how Blinky and AAARRRGGHH!!!'s relationships with Jim might have changed, i.e, how differently do they introduce themselves to him in the very beginning of the series?
> 
> Anyway, if you'd like to yell with/at me or want to see my art, my Tumblr is @autumnalfallingleaves and my Insta is the same.


End file.
